ESCONDIDO: Doughnuts, heavy metal and comics have been passions for new store owner

GARY WARTH gwarth@nctimes.com

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The man behind the counter at North County's newest comic book store may look familiar to many longtime Escondido residents, and customers might even recognize some merchandise.

"All the fixtures, the shelf units, glass cases and a ginormous amount of back-stocked inventory are from Comic Gallery," said Mike Marte, owner of Superheroes in Training at 1131 E. Washington Ave. in Escondido.

Marte, 37, bought Comic Gallery's inventory after the store closed about three years ago after more than 30 years in business. Thousands of comics and other items were in storage while Marte made plans to open his own store, which he finally did two weeks ago.

Escondido residents may recognize Marte from his family business, Marte's Donuts, next door to the comic shop and a fixture in Escondido since 1978.

"I grew up in that doughnut shop," Marte said. "When I was a teenager, I was in a band, so it was pretty much doughnuts and music."

Besides working in the doughnut shop with his father and playing guitar in the heavy metal band Minotaur, Marte also was a manager at Toys "R" Us in Escondido. While at the store in 2000, a co-worker gave him a gift that changed his life: a ticket to Comic-Con International, the annual pop culture convention in San Diego that originally was organized by comic book fans.

"And the rest was history," Marte said.

As his interest in comics grew, so did Marte's collection of books, toys, miniature statues and, in a true show of devotion, tattoos.

"I have a lot of tattoos, and most of those are comic-book-related," he said. "I've had 40 tattoos in the last 12 years."

His back is covered with his largest tattoo, a depiction of X-Men characters Colossus and Kitty Pryde, which Marte said represents him and his wife, Heather.

Marte credits Heather with helping him open Superheroes in Training with money she earned as a surrogate mother.

"We have three kids of our own, and I didn't want any more," he said about how the idea of being a surrogate came about. "This year, she'll be a surrogate for the fourth time."

Marte had been working for three years at Comic Gallery when it closed, and he jumped at the chance to buy the inventory from owner Steve Rizner for just $1,000.

"My comic book collection alone was in the vicinity of about 30,000 comic books," Marte said about his contribution to his shop's inventory, which also includes miniature character statues from his collection. "I was collecting comic books until the day I opened."

On Friday, Marte was making plans for what he hoped would be the first big day at his shop, Free Comic Book Day on May 5. Along with Invincible Ink in San Marcos, Big Steven's Comic Kitchen in Oceanside and other shops around the country, Superheroes in Training was planning to give away free comics to customers as part of the national promotion.

Marte said he also plans to have comic book creators appear at his store to meet fans in the future. He already has lined up the team that is working on the new "Popeye" comic book, and in September he plans to have Stephen King's son Joe Hill at his store to promote Hill's comic book "Locke & Key."

Mostly, though, Marte said he wants his shop to have the friendly, welcoming environment found in many comic book stores.

"One of the best things I loved about Comic Gallery was that it was a place where your fellow geek or pop culture enthusiasts could come and hang out in an environment where you felt relaxed and welcomed," he said. "It's more than just a comic book shop. It's a place where you can gather and talk about your interests."